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| well-dressed working girl early 1951. |
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
The Early Fifties
In recent times there seems to have been an interest in fashion and dress of the 1950's. I was interested to see in a recent shoe catalogue that shoes similar to those I had worn to work are back in the stores. Looking at this photo a few years ago I would have thought they looked horrible...now I feel right in fashion! Lace-ups with a heel...gloves and stockings!
Friday, 21 September 2012
Getting around
At last it is Spring here and I have been sorting out the winter clothes ready to clean and pack away until next year. We are off to Mooloolaba in a couple of weeks for our annual couple of weeks of sun, surf and sand...cant wait!
Thinking about what clothes etc to take and how our little VW Golf will be well packed for the trip over to the coast, I began wondering how our mother ever managed to pack for our annual holiday at the coast. Until 1949 we would have travelled by train from Brisbane, alighting at Palmwoods for Maroochydore or Landsborough for Caloundra...I think that is correct. Then we travelled by a "bus"...I use the term loosely as I seem to remember what was more like a converted truck with bench seats....over a dirt/sandy raod. this was great fun for the kids as we sang and played Ispy etc and had a competition to see who would first see the water. Must have been slow torture for the adults!
The luggage I think was towed behind in something. The rented houses or flats( units in todays terminology) where we stayed were not serviced and all household linen, cutlery etc had to be taken with us in "ports"...suitcases to you southerners! On some occasions I remember havingChristmas at the coast so presents would also have to be packed and all this had to be carried. I cant remember ever seeing my mother carrying a port and we didn't have backpacks or duffle bags then so however did Dad manage...even with Alan's help. I'll be thinking about that as I cram another bag of things into the Golf!
Dad bought the old Morris in 1949 ( Post-Car-1 April,2011) and we seem to have made quite a few day trips over the following few years as well as the annual coast holiday. During my high school days and later I was often able to take a friend with me on these holidays and day trips. This photo was taken at Somerset Dam in June 1949, and shows my friend Gill, Lois and me.
I also had a couple of holidays when I went with the same friends on their holidays...
Thinking about what clothes etc to take and how our little VW Golf will be well packed for the trip over to the coast, I began wondering how our mother ever managed to pack for our annual holiday at the coast. Until 1949 we would have travelled by train from Brisbane, alighting at Palmwoods for Maroochydore or Landsborough for Caloundra...I think that is correct. Then we travelled by a "bus"...I use the term loosely as I seem to remember what was more like a converted truck with bench seats....over a dirt/sandy raod. this was great fun for the kids as we sang and played Ispy etc and had a competition to see who would first see the water. Must have been slow torture for the adults!
The luggage I think was towed behind in something. The rented houses or flats( units in todays terminology) where we stayed were not serviced and all household linen, cutlery etc had to be taken with us in "ports"...suitcases to you southerners! On some occasions I remember havingChristmas at the coast so presents would also have to be packed and all this had to be carried. I cant remember ever seeing my mother carrying a port and we didn't have backpacks or duffle bags then so however did Dad manage...even with Alan's help. I'll be thinking about that as I cram another bag of things into the Golf!
I also had a couple of holidays when I went with the same friends on their holidays...
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| Felicity and Hilary at Springbrook 1949 The north coast beaches were always part of my life...  |
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Hilary & Bill
I mentioned in the last post that Bill & I were married in June, 1955. I think I mentioned earlier that I had first seen Bill back when we were living in Petrie and I was travelling to school by train. Bill and his brothers used to board the train at Bald Hills which is on the same train line as Petrie. Like any teenager I was aware of any other schoolkids on the train. However it was not until 1948 or 1949 when we moved to Bald Hills that I actually met the family. Our home at Bald Hills was in the front corner of a neighbouring farm. Bill and his brothers knew these people and we eventually met through them.
My memories of the following years are a bit vague but I know that there was a little group of us who went for picnics etc. I dont remember when Bill & I started going out together but here are a couple of photos taken at Balls. One is a University Commem Ball and I think the earlier one may have been my school's Old Girls Ball. Somewhere I have a group photos which shows us at Bill's Main Roads Ball. I am in the process of clearing out drawers and cupboards and seem to be making myself more confused than ever as to where things are!.
My memories of the following years are a bit vague but I know that there was a little group of us who went for picnics etc. I dont remember when Bill & I started going out together but here are a couple of photos taken at Balls. One is a University Commem Ball and I think the earlier one may have been my school's Old Girls Ball. Somewhere I have a group photos which shows us at Bill's Main Roads Ball. I am in the process of clearing out drawers and cupboards and seem to be making myself more confused than ever as to where things are!.
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Tuesday, 4 September 2012
Some events in Australia's history between 1948 and 1955
It is interesting to put one's own life against the backgound of the nation at different stages.
I finished school in 1948; June of that year saw the end of rationing of meat and clothing...though there were still shortages.
In January of 1949... the year I started work at the South Brisbane library... the Nationality and Citizenship Act was passed. From Australia Day ,January 26th, Australians would have their own citizenship, although they were to remain British subjects. This applied to those born here and to naturalised people. It seems hard to believe that Australian citizenship, taken for granted today, did not exist until then.
In August, 1949 there was another serious polio outbreak; this time involving adults as well as children.
Rationing of petrol ended in February and of butter in June, 1950. In July Australian troops were sent to Korea. Plans were made about this time to establish TV in Australia; it finally went to air in September that year.
In 1951... the year I went to Uni full-time... the School of the Air began broadcasting from the Flying Doctor base in Alice Springs; in August compulsory National Service of 98 days was introduced .
1952 saw Elizabeth crowned Queen after the death of her father King George V1
People greeted with relief the end of our involvement in the Korean war in 1953.
In 1954...while I was working full-time at the State Library... Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Australia. There was another polio outbreak so they were vaccinated in Canberra during their visit!
In 1955...Hilary & Bill were married!!!!
I finished school in 1948; June of that year saw the end of rationing of meat and clothing...though there were still shortages.
In January of 1949... the year I started work at the South Brisbane library... the Nationality and Citizenship Act was passed. From Australia Day ,January 26th, Australians would have their own citizenship, although they were to remain British subjects. This applied to those born here and to naturalised people. It seems hard to believe that Australian citizenship, taken for granted today, did not exist until then.
In August, 1949 there was another serious polio outbreak; this time involving adults as well as children.
Rationing of petrol ended in February and of butter in June, 1950. In July Australian troops were sent to Korea. Plans were made about this time to establish TV in Australia; it finally went to air in September that year.
In 1951... the year I went to Uni full-time... the School of the Air began broadcasting from the Flying Doctor base in Alice Springs; in August compulsory National Service of 98 days was introduced .
1952 saw Elizabeth crowned Queen after the death of her father King George V1
People greeted with relief the end of our involvement in the Korean war in 1953.
In 1954...while I was working full-time at the State Library... Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Australia. There was another polio outbreak so they were vaccinated in Canberra during their visit!
In 1955...Hilary & Bill were married!!!!
Monday, 3 September 2012
The working girl
It is quite some time since I have been down memory lane...too busy living in the here and now.
We have been on a wonderful cruise through the Panama Canal since I last posted here. Visited countries I would not have dreamt of visiting as a young girl...in fact probably had no idea they existed!
My previous posts took these memoirs to the time I finished my secondary schooling. Either late in 1948 or early in 1949, we moved from Wavell Heights to Bald Hills.
I thought at the time that I had had enough of study and to my parents' disappointment decided not to go on to University. I applied for and was accepted for a position as a trainee librarian at the South Brisbane Municipal Library. This was the only free lending library in Brisbane ( probably the state of Queensland) at that time. I was one of six school-leavers who started there early in 1949 . As it turned out, I was back to study as we had to attend lectures for the Preliminary Library Certificate of the Australian Library Board. This was the only formal library qualification available in those days. Now it is a University degree.Two mornings each week we went over to the State Library Of Queensland where we had to memorise the intricacies of the Dewey decimal System. We also had to memorise the details of a number of reference books. I cant be sure now but I think this involved about 50 books . We had to know all their publication details, date, edition ,publisher and authors or editors; number of volumes ;whether they had photos ,maps etc , a bibliography, index, list of contents...in fact everything about those books. I had an idex card for each book and thought |I'd never be able to remember them all before the exam.
We sat for this exam in June 1950 and fortunately we all passed.
At the same time I was still attending private lessons which led to my Art of Speech & Drama teachers qualifications; started piano lessons again, and continued with ballet for a while.
As Bald Hills was the northernmost suburb of Brisbane we travelled to the city mostly by train. We could also walk down the hill from our home, across the Pine River and then catch a bus which came from Redcliffe. It was not permitted to stop within the Brisbane area which is why we had to cross the bridge to board it. When I was coming home at night the driver used to slow down enough to allow me to hop off at the top of the hill close to our house.
Although rationing was soon to stop, clothing was still in short supply so many of us made our own clothes. It was exciting to see fabrics coming back into the stores. In the above photo you may be able to make out a tartan jacket I'm wearing. I remember making this and Alan helping me as I had the fabric spread out on the loungeroom floor trying to match up the stripes etc of the plaid.
I worked for the Brisbane Council libraries through 1948 to early 1950 and was fortunate to be involved with the expansion of the Municipal library scheme.
I was sent to the Childrens section of the Hamilton library on its opening day ; later I was transferred to the new Stones Corner Municipal library. This was good experience as there were times when I was on my own . We were given very good training in many aspects of library work most of which is done by computers these days. Cataloguing etc was done on the premises; later from a centralised point and I think often now comes with the books , non-fiction anyhow, from the publisher. My local municpal library has recently introduced self-service check-out. I couldn't help comparing that to my early library days when each book had a card and each borrower a number . We had to write the borrower's number on the book card and these cards had to be filed before the library opened next morning. The books had a slip glued in the front where we stamped the date due for return.
It was around this time that I started getting eyestrain and eventually had to wear glasses.
In 1950 I started evening classes at the Queensland University so study was full on again. I found that I actually enjoy studying!
In 1951 I applied for what was known as a Commonwealth scholarship. These had been introduced for returned soldiers but became available to anyone. University courses were free but the scholarship paid for books which was a great help.
Having gained the scholarship I decided to resign and attend University full-time studying for my Bachelor of Arts.
I attended Uni from 1950-1953 working at the Queensland State library during vacations.
Several friends and myself rented a unit at the coast to celebrate the end of our first exams.
Incidentally I made those bathers as I could not buy any to fit me.
Living so far from the city meant that my social life was a bit limited. Sometimes I could stay overnight with ex-school friends. Most of these also turned 21 in 1952 so there were a few coming-of-age parties. Only a couple of these were formal events, mostly it was just a few close friends at home for the occasion.
The university students held dances for a couple of months before the annual Commem Ball. The purpose was of course so people could find a partner for the Ball...quite nerve-racking for the girls...but we wouldn't have missed going!
To get home after these I had to be sure to leave in time to walk quite a distance to where I could catch the last Redcliffe bus for the night. Although Brisbane was still a very safe city it was still not a comfortable walk around 11pm on my own. One n ight I stood at the bus stop for such a long time that I decided I must have missed it. I had enough money with me to catch a tram down to where I knew there would be a taxi rank. I was very anxious as I was not sure if a cab driver would be willing to take me all the way to Bald Hills, especially as he would have to wait while I asked Dad to come and pay him .
I was fortunate to have approached a very understanding driver...and as I said Brisbane was still a very safe and friendly city. Cant remember if Dad was waiting up for me ...he usually did...but I know he made sure I always had extra money with me after that night.
After graduation I gained appointment full-time at the Queensland State library.
We have been on a wonderful cruise through the Panama Canal since I last posted here. Visited countries I would not have dreamt of visiting as a young girl...in fact probably had no idea they existed!
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| Hilary & Bill cruising through the Panama Canal |
My previous posts took these memoirs to the time I finished my secondary schooling. Either late in 1948 or early in 1949, we moved from Wavell Heights to Bald Hills.
 |
| "Dumaresq", Bald Hills, Brisbane |
I thought at the time that I had had enough of study and to my parents' disappointment decided not to go on to University. I applied for and was accepted for a position as a trainee librarian at the South Brisbane Municipal Library. This was the only free lending library in Brisbane ( probably the state of Queensland) at that time. I was one of six school-leavers who started there early in 1949 . As it turned out, I was back to study as we had to attend lectures for the Preliminary Library Certificate of the Australian Library Board. This was the only formal library qualification available in those days. Now it is a University degree.Two mornings each week we went over to the State Library Of Queensland where we had to memorise the intricacies of the Dewey decimal System. We also had to memorise the details of a number of reference books. I cant be sure now but I think this involved about 50 books . We had to know all their publication details, date, edition ,publisher and authors or editors; number of volumes ;whether they had photos ,maps etc , a bibliography, index, list of contents...in fact everything about those books. I had an idex card for each book and thought |I'd never be able to remember them all before the exam.
We sat for this exam in June 1950 and fortunately we all passed.
 |
| I'm on the right in front |
At the same time I was still attending private lessons which led to my Art of Speech & Drama teachers qualifications; started piano lessons again, and continued with ballet for a while.
As Bald Hills was the northernmost suburb of Brisbane we travelled to the city mostly by train. We could also walk down the hill from our home, across the Pine River and then catch a bus which came from Redcliffe. It was not permitted to stop within the Brisbane area which is why we had to cross the bridge to board it. When I was coming home at night the driver used to slow down enough to allow me to hop off at the top of the hill close to our house.
Although rationing was soon to stop, clothing was still in short supply so many of us made our own clothes. It was exciting to see fabrics coming back into the stores. In the above photo you may be able to make out a tartan jacket I'm wearing. I remember making this and Alan helping me as I had the fabric spread out on the loungeroom floor trying to match up the stripes etc of the plaid.
I worked for the Brisbane Council libraries through 1948 to early 1950 and was fortunate to be involved with the expansion of the Municipal library scheme.
I was sent to the Childrens section of the Hamilton library on its opening day ; later I was transferred to the new Stones Corner Municipal library. This was good experience as there were times when I was on my own . We were given very good training in many aspects of library work most of which is done by computers these days. Cataloguing etc was done on the premises; later from a centralised point and I think often now comes with the books , non-fiction anyhow, from the publisher. My local municpal library has recently introduced self-service check-out. I couldn't help comparing that to my early library days when each book had a card and each borrower a number . We had to write the borrower's number on the book card and these cards had to be filed before the library opened next morning. The books had a slip glued in the front where we stamped the date due for return.
It was around this time that I started getting eyestrain and eventually had to wear glasses.
In 1950 I started evening classes at the Queensland University so study was full on again. I found that I actually enjoy studying!
In 1951 I applied for what was known as a Commonwealth scholarship. These had been introduced for returned soldiers but became available to anyone. University courses were free but the scholarship paid for books which was a great help.
Having gained the scholarship I decided to resign and attend University full-time studying for my Bachelor of Arts.
I attended Uni from 1950-1953 working at the Queensland State library during vacations.
Several friends and myself rented a unit at the coast to celebrate the end of our first exams.
 |
| Hilary at Maroochydore in December 1951 |
Living so far from the city meant that my social life was a bit limited. Sometimes I could stay overnight with ex-school friends. Most of these also turned 21 in 1952 so there were a few coming-of-age parties. Only a couple of these were formal events, mostly it was just a few close friends at home for the occasion.
The university students held dances for a couple of months before the annual Commem Ball. The purpose was of course so people could find a partner for the Ball...quite nerve-racking for the girls...but we wouldn't have missed going!
To get home after these I had to be sure to leave in time to walk quite a distance to where I could catch the last Redcliffe bus for the night. Although Brisbane was still a very safe city it was still not a comfortable walk around 11pm on my own. One n ight I stood at the bus stop for such a long time that I decided I must have missed it. I had enough money with me to catch a tram down to where I knew there would be a taxi rank. I was very anxious as I was not sure if a cab driver would be willing to take me all the way to Bald Hills, especially as he would have to wait while I asked Dad to come and pay him .
I was fortunate to have approached a very understanding driver...and as I said Brisbane was still a very safe and friendly city. Cant remember if Dad was waiting up for me ...he usually did...but I know he made sure I always had extra money with me after that night.
After graduation I gained appointment full-time at the Queensland State library.
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